William Harvey: The Circulation of Blood

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Padua and the Anatomy Theatre

William Harvey was born in 1578 in Folkestone, England, the eldest of nine children in a prosperous merchant family. After studying at Cambridge, he travelled to Padua — the finest medical school in Europe — where he studied under the legendary anatomist Fabricius ab Aquapendente. Fabricius had recently described the valves inside the veins but could not explain their purpose. The young Harvey observed, questioned, and stored the puzzle away. He received his doctorate in 1602 and returned to England with a determination to understand how the body truly worked.